Feeding device for cable-drilling tools



\ J. PENROD/ FEEDING DEVICE FOR CABLE DRILLING TOOLS Aug. 16, 1927.l

File'd uaoh 25. 192s Patented ug. 1K6, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT AOFI-icaA JOHN PENKROD, for OKMULGEE, OKLAHOMA,AssIGNOR OFoNE-HALF To ROBERT n.

THOMPSON, or OKMULGEE, OKLAHOMA.v

FEEDlNG DEVICE FOR CABLE-DRILLING TOOLS.

Application med March-25, 192e. serial No. 97,294'.

This invention relates Ato feeding devices for the wire lines of welldrilling cable tools.

The present day feeding devices for the wire lines of cable drillingtools are in the nature of temper screws, the proper operation of which,to allowl of the lowering of the drill cable, requires careful attentionon the part of the driller and considerable time is required to returnthe temper screw to its set position at the end of its stroke. Inaddition to this an elaborate set of weights connected to the temperscreviT kby cables is required to return the temper screw to itsoperative or set position and these features together with the dangerincident to the employment of temper screws have been the subject ofmuch consideration by those interested in the development of theindustry and it is, therefore, an important object of this invention toprovide a wire line feeding device by means of` which the feed isrendered practically yautomatic and vby means of which the return ofthe-'device to i af set position is accomplishedv without the aid ofseparate weightedcables and without special eort on the part of theoperator'. A further'object of the invention is to provide a feedingdevice which may be positively locked in a set position to temporarilyarrest further descent of the tools and which may be employed to lift'the, cable slightly should the device be employ'edin connection .with afishing operation.

A further and equally important object of thisl invention is to providea feeding de- Vvice of the character specified which may be employed inconnection with standard drilling equipment without elaboratealterationof the same and without an increase in operating expenses. n

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of thefollowing description.

In the accompanying drawing forming a' part of this application and inwhich like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout thesame,

vFigure lis a perspective'of the improved cable or wire line feedingdevice .Figure 2 is a1 sectional view through the same set foroperation;

Figure Sis a detail "sectional view illustrating the device at thecompletion of a stroke or downward movement;

the reception of air under pressure.

, Figure 4 is a perspective of a sleeveV or rotary. valve. embodied inthe invention;

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view through a modified form ofinvention. f

In the drawing, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown severalpreferred embodiments ofthe invention, the numerals 5 and 6 designateinner and outer cylinders, respectively, which, as shown in Figure 2,are arranged in spaced relation to define an annular. compressionchamber 7 adapted for The chamber 7 ma'y be supplied with air by Way ofa valve 4. The valve 4 may-when the occasion requires be connected withan-air compressor or lwith a'hand pump lso that pressure to the desiredamount will be present in the chamber 7.

The upper portion of the cylinders 5 and 6 have threaded connection witha head 8.

More specifically, the head 8 is internally' portions of the cylinders 5and 6. The i' head 8 is provided with a neck 9 having laterallyprojecting yarms 10 adapted to be engaged with a beam in the usual andwell known manner so that Vthe 'operation of thev beam will result inthe vertical movement" of the feeding device just as' are'the presentday temper screws raised and lowered.

Figure 2 plainly illustrates that a quantity of heavy oil is receivedinithe cylinders 5 and 6 and is normally .urged intov the inner cylinder5 byv the pressure of the air within the chamberY 7'. At this point itmight best-ated that the air is introduced into the chamber 7 underpressure when the major portion of the ,liquid is contained within theinner cylinder 5 as shown in Figure 2. Therefore, when the liquid isforced from the inner cylinder '5i into the chamber 7 vby -a means to'be described the air -within the chamber 7 is still furtherv compressed.

. A suitably packed.V piston 16 is mounted inthe cylinder 5 and hasconnection withA a plunger 'or 'rod 17 which extends down through thelower end of the device and is connected with what might be said to be acrosshead 20. The oro'sshead is threaded onto the llower end of the rod17 and is lfurther held thereon by means of a nut 22 or other lsecurefastening device. Suitable links 24 are connected to the crosshead 20and carry a clamp 26 of conventional or other design.

rlhe column of liquid in the inner cylinder 5 supports the piston 16 andwhen the column of liquid is free to flow from the inner cylinder to thechamber 7 through a port 28 the piston 16 may descend to allow of thelowering of the wire line and drilling tools. As vshown in Figure 2, asleeve valve 30 is mounted in the lowerportion of the cylinder 5 and thebottom member 32 and is providedwith ports B1 and 36 adapted to beAselectivelyv registered with the port 28. When the port 811 is inregistration with the port 28 the piston may descend at a comparativelyslow uniform rate.

The sleeve valve 30 may be turned so that the port 86 which is in thenatureV of an arcuate slot may be registered with the port 28 to bringabout the somewhat more rapid descent of the piston. 1t will be seenthat when the piston 16 reaches the limit of its descent the air in thechamber 7 will be very highly compressed and when the weight of thetools is taken off the clamp this highly compressed air will act topromptly return the piston 16 toan elevated position. Of course, whenthe piston reaches the limit of its descent and it is desired to returnthe same to an -elevated position as shown in Figure 2 the valve 30 ismoved to its completely closed position and the clamp 26 released frombinding engagementwith the wire line. The valve 80 is now turned so thatthe port 36 registers with the opening 28 and the air under pressure inthe chamloer 7`will return the liquid to the cylinder 5 whereupon thepiston 16 is returned to an elevated position. All of this isaccomplished without the aid of an elaborate arrangement of weights orpulleys so necessary in the present day temper screws. Also thisre-setting operation is completed without the loss of the drillers time.

Figure 4L illustrates that the sleeve 30 is provided with a radialhandle 40 which eX tends through a suitable slot in the lower end member32 and is within convenient reach of the operator so that it is a simplematter to turn the valve to the desired position.

One of the most important features of the invention residesV in the factthat the piston 16 and all parts of the device are positively heldvagainst turning under the Viniiuence of the back twist in the line bythe provision of a squared shaft 50 which extends up from the piston 16and passes through a squared opening in the head 8, and the neck 9.Since the` arms 10 are mounted on the beam and are held against turningthereby the cylinder 6 and all other parts of the device are positivelyheld against turning.

Should it be. desired to lift the Vtools off bottom slightly or,V toraise the wire line during a shing operation, a hand pump consisting ofa plunger 6.0 and a hand oper ated lever 61`may be brought into use anda quantity of the liquid in th-e chamber 7 pumped from the chamber 7into, the cylinder 5. The lever 61 which is fulcruined as indicated at63 may be rocked to reciprocate the plunger 60,v and thereby-allow aportion of the'liquid inthe chamber 7 to pass down `thro-ugh a port intothe small cylinder in which the plunger 60 reciprocates and on theforward motion of the plunger 6,0 the oil or otherV liquid employed willbe forced up into the cylinder 5. This, of course, will result in theupward movement of the piston 16 the required distance.

In the use of the improved feeding device the laterally projecting arms10 are mounted on the beam in the usual manner and the wire line engagedby the clamps 26. The beam is now set in motion in the usual manner andto bring about the feeding of the cable at the proper rate, the valvehandle 40 is moved to one of its eXtreme positions to register the port34 with the port 28 whereupon the liquid beneath the piston 16 willbleed through the port 28 and into the chamber 7. If it is desired todrop the wire line possibly a foot, the sleeve valve 80l may be mov-edto its other eXtreme position so that the port 36 will register with theport 28 and themore rapid iiow of the liquid from the cylinder 5 to theychamber 7 brought about. Y When the piston 16 reaches the limit of itsdescent the valve 30 may lbe lmoved to its fully closed position and theclamps released. The valve 30 is now moved to a position where the port36 registers with the port 28 and the highly compressed air in thechamber 7 will promptly cause-the oil or other liquid to return to thecylinder 5 and elevate the piston 16 so that the improved feeding deviceis again readyfor operation.

In the form of invention shown in Figure 5 the lower end member which isdesignated by the numeral is provided with a valve housing 71 in which aneedle valve 72V is located. The needle valve 7 2 controls Va passage74; extending from the inner cylinder to the outer air chamber and bythe bperation of the handle of the 'valve the flow of iiuid back andforth through the port 7 t may be accuratelyY regulated.

The invention forming the subject matter of this application is intendedto provide a combined hydraulic and compressed air means by which theVuniform advancement or feed of the wire line is vaccomplished withoutfrequent adjustment by the drillen As previously stated, the improvedfeeding device or any of the parts thereof are positively held againstturning under the influence of the backlash in the line and th device isthereby rendered extremely sa e.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A hydraulic feeding device for wire lines comprising inner and outercommuni'- cating cylinders adapted for the reception of compressible andnon-compressible fluids,`

a piston in one of the cylinders and having a rod adapted for connectionwith a wire line, a sleeve valve having ports adapted to establishcommunication between the inner and outer cylinders, and means wherebyone of the cylinders may be supplied With a fluid under a high pressure.

2. A feeding device for the character specified comprising inner andouter interfitting cylinders, end members closing and connecting thecylinders, said cylinders being adapted for the reception ofcompressible and non-compressible fluids, a piston in the inner cylinderand'having a rod adapted for connection with the Wire line of cabletools, means whereby fluid may be introduced into and compressed in saidouter cylinder independently of the non-compressible fluid and thepiston, a valve controlling communication between the inner and outercylinders and adapted to allow of the movement of a non-compressiblefluid froml the inner cylinder to the outer cylinder, whereby the pistonmay descend under the weight of the wire line and the cable and thetools connected thereto, the movement of the non-compressible fluid fromthe inner to the outer cylinder constituting a means to further compressthe compressible fluid in the outer cylinder whereby the highlycompressed fluid in the outer cylinder may return the non-compressiblefluid to the inner cylinder to elevate the position therein.

3. A feeding device for wire lines of cable drilling tools comprisinginner and outer interlitting cylinders adapted for the reception offluid, a piston 1n one of the cylinders and having a rod adapted forconnection with a wire line, a sleeve valve within one of said cylindersand having separate ports of different sizes adapted to permit of theflow of fluid from one cylinder to the other whereby the piston may beraised or lowered.

In testimony whereof I affix my si nature.

JOHN PEN OD.

